Take Action

We've all been there. An idea for a business. A product that the market needs. A game-changing service to deliver. Then we never take action. Someone else does. They are living the life that you imagined, simply because they chose to take action. Maybe you hesitated due to lack of funds. Maybe it was because your skillset doesn't match what's required for success. Or maybe, it's a lack of belief in yourself. This week, I'll cover the last separator in the CONNECT Framework - Take Action. Over the past several weeks, we've explored the base of the framework. We've entered into conversations with curiosity. We've offered value to people we meet. We've set judgements to the side. We've nurtured existing relationships. We've committed to being our authentic selves. We've brainstormed win-win ideas. Now it's time to take action! At this point in the framework, the foundation is built. We have created authentic relationships where mutual strengths and weaknesses are understood. We have built trust and communication with our contacts. Yet many of us still don't know how to take the last step, often due to barriers that we feel are out of our control. I've experienced these exact challenges, but there is always a solution. You have the right team but lack of funding? Start making public declarations about your needs; the right contact might have a connection to funding. That doesn't work? Create an equity play, where each person on your team contributes with a bootstrap mentality, receiving equity once your idea is successful. Have a great idea but wrong skillset? Find people with skillsets within your network that offset your weaknesses. Begin collaborating. Lack of belief in yourself? Focus on personal growth. Go to a motivational seminar. Read Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. Recognize your strengths and potential. Begin dreaming like a child again. Then take action. All of my career transitions, from washing dishes, to becoming a soldier, to leading crews into fires as a captain, to managing complex emergencies as a battalion chief, to commercial banking, have all come from the CONNECT Framework. I just didn't realize it until I started writing. I'm not particularly intelligent. I'm undereducated. I came from poverty. I've failed countless times. And yet, my journey is proof that it's never too late to set new goals and live life to its fullest. Our startup, Leviathan AI, doesn't have funding. I am not a coder or AI expert. I have incredible amounts of self doubt when writing or speaking on stage. And yet, in the past few months, I've been published, given speeches in front of hundreds of people, been asked to be on an advisory council for a public benefit company that could drastically help humanity, and co-created an AI company that addresses a real need for businesses. Now that I've uncovered the framework that's allowed me to pivot and reinvent, I've intentionally put these tools into action. Not through manipulation, but through authentic relationship building and following the CONNECT Framework. The results are incredible. My relationships are stronger. My circle is growing. What was once a spark, is now a wildfire of collaboration and teamwork. And we're just getting started. As we head into the New Year mentality, take a moment to pause and reflect on what you can accomplish next year. Be curious, offer value, dispel your judgements of others, nurture your relationships, engage authentically, create win-win scenarios, then take action! Each person reading this has unique skills, talents, and abilities from the rest of us. Believe in yourself, dream big, and collaborate! Together, we'll flip the script of the "lone genius" and show that anything is possible with the right team. I'm not self made, and you don't have to be either. I genuinely hope that each of you has an incredible holiday season! -Michael Greenwalt Learn how authentic relationship building can change your life and career. Check out my new book, (Not) Self Made https://a.co/d/ic444zP https://www.zipr.ai https://theoperatorscollective.com #relationships #connection #2026 The first time I asked myself who I was becoming, I didn’t know I was asking it. I was standing in a National Guard… Everyone is talking about what AI can do. Nobody is asking what it's doing to you. You have a self-leadership problem. It’s a familiar phrase: “I’d love to start that, build that, learn that, do that… I… The greatest barrier to entry is rarely lack of ability. It is the fear of being seen trying. Sometimes the hardest part of growth is admitting that a chapter didn’t fail. It simply finished. 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